It's as easy as 1, 2, 3! A DIY Blog.

DO IT YOURSELF OR NOT.

Simon Aleman — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:01:59 GMT

I think the question of when to outsource is fast becoming the only question to answer. Every firm I talk to has a mandate or at least a formal initiative to do as much work in-house as possible. Firms are looking for ways to cut costs or capture revenue by doing document processing themselves. Software needed to do this has become much easier and intuitive to use. The Multi-Function Device has also become more powerful and less expensive. These two advances in technology make the question of when to outsource document processing a simple one to answer. 1) Do I have the computer processing resources needed to get the job done in an acceptable time frame and 2) Do I have someone who can see the task through. I call this DIY Threshold Tolerance. A firms threshold tolerance depends of the depth of staff and type of available equipment. If either of the two elements of the equation are missing, you have a recipe for disaster. Do not force fit a project for the sake of expedience unless you can afford the costs of delay (loss of credibility with the bench if you have to ask for more time or worse sanctions).

It’s pretty simple really. A computer can process an application at a given rate of throughput. You have an identifiable amount of documents to scan or electronic documents to process. Lastly, you have a certain amount of time to get it done. Don’t bet your case on a first time attempt to DIY a project for the risk of being late on delivery. Take on smaller projects and see how fast your software and hardware combination performs. Take note of it. Attorneys: Don’t try to fit a Size 12 foot into a Size 8 shoe. There is no amount of magic, sweat or late hours that can increase this throughput level. It is what it is. Know the rate. Calculate the rate times the work volume and see if you have enough time.

Again, start small with low volumes. Establish a throughput baseline and manage your projects from there.

Apples vs. Cherries? "Why process single page images?"

Brittney Aleman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:44:04 GMT

This is a great Skimming the Surface question that I recently received. A group of new Breezers were trying to decide whether to create a Summation load file with OCR and eStamp using the Single Page TIFF or Multi-Page TIFF option. Since both options seem to load into Summation similarly, the group decided to call Tech Support for our feedback. This is the overview of our conversation.

Before processing documents to be loaded into a database such as Summation, we need to consider where this case is headed. Are the pages separated into document groups such as medical records from specific facilities? Typically, medical records can be offered in whole, with the exception of redactions, as exhibits in depositions or trial. If this is the case, then creating a multi-page load file does little from the backend to hinder future deposition or trial prep document processing.

In most other occasions, other types of documents may only be offered in part as exhibits. Our services company recently assisted a firm with this exact issue. The Defense in the case had received a series of reports saved to multi-page image files with a Summation multi-page load file. Each of the reports contained a Form 343T** document. The Defendant had designated each of these forms to be compiled into one exhibit. Unfortunately, this means that each of these multi-page TIF files had to be manually edited to extract the single Form 343T document from the middle of the report file.

Let’s think of an apple as a multi-page image document and a group of cherries as a single page image document. To enjoy a slice of apple, you have to cut and permanently change the entire apple to get to that slice (or page) in the middle. On the other hand, to select a cherry, you only have to pick the one you wish to enjoy out of the bunch. This is how you should look at the image file output. The bunch of cherries is obviously more immediately manageable.

Not all cases are the same. Not all document populations are the same. My recommendation is to process image files using the Single-Page TIF. This processing option has the same result in terms of loading the documents in the database. The difference comes along later down the road when you need to reset document breaks or regroup pages into exhibits. Where have your experiences lead you in terms of multi-page or single page image files? Feel free to post your questions, comments or concerns. I'd love to hear your ideas.
**The term Form 343T is used in place of the actual document name.

Skimming the Surface

Brittney Aleman — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:15:10 GMT

For years the big fad has been to blog about lit support topics. Although the information is invaluable to people like myself that spend their days in war rooms and court houses, sometimes it feels like I have visions of FRCP rules dancing in my head at night. Worse, it still only skims the surface. What about the weeks, months and even years spent trudging through discovery that leads to the grand finale?

Who is blogging about how to process your documents? Soon the overwhelming questions seep to the surface; “How am I going to do this? How do I track my time? How do I create a load file? Should I load OCR? IS ANYONE LISTENING?!”

If you feel like a lone voice crying in the wilderness, it’s time to pause and take a deep breath. Someone is listening and Breeze has the solutions you need!

The first step is to establish a process by which you will get these documents into Summation or Concordance. Just like anything else, you must plan ahead or be prepared for failure. Well, maybe fail is too strong of a word but at the very minimum, expect ongoing challenges and extended time to get the job done right…or you can make light work of even the most complex document nightmare with Breeze Lit solutions.

Breeze provides a unique process plan for our clients. This plan assists in every step including the establishment of Bates numbering schemes and tracking pages for billing to setting up Breeze jobs to be processed. If you already have a plan in place then Breeze provides the flexibility you need to enhance and modify your own system without having to change what already works. For those of you who are less organized (and you know who you are!), Breeze provides a quick and convenient way to get started fast. You can refine and modify the process to fit your specific needs but still get up to speed without the time, cost and steep learning curve associated with others. The important thing is to stop procrastinating and actually get started!

We have adopted the same philosophy to our plan as we have our software – keep it simple.

Click on the following link to review the Breeze Process Plan.pdf.

Do it yourself. It's not a secret anymore.

Rhea Chatham — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:48:44 GMT

DIY is all the buzz. Heck, we even have a cable show dedicated to it. Thank you, HGTV. So, why don’t we hear more about DIY in the legal space?

Because service vendors don’t want you to do it yourself. Doing it for you is their bread and butter. That’s how they make money. So, what if I said you can get the bread and butter for free (or little cost) to your firm? You’d want a slice, wouldn’t you? Reduce costs and increase billable revenue by making your own bread-and-butter sandwich. Bring those services in-house.

You can do it yourself. Process images to searchable PDFs, create load files for all major lit-support databases, perform extremely accurate OCR, reorganize images, batch-print at rated speeds, and much more.

When you depend on a service vendor, you depend on its timeframe, not your own. Sometimes, your legal team waits days to get working documents, essentially wasting precious time it could devote to the case itself. That doesn’t make sense when you can bring the job in-house. Get working docs when you need them – how you need them – and break the chains of outsourcing. Cut out the middleman, already.

You’ll gain a competitive edge because you’ll have more time for the case. Plus, the client doesn’t eat the cost you would’ve spent on a random service vendor. Your clients gain value because they’re getting better, more efficient legal services for less money. All the while, you’re making more money.

See, you increase billable revenue by doing the work yourself. I know a St. Louis firm that did just that. They cut costs to process images for their client and billed for the work they did. Everybody saved money. Now that’s a win-win if I’ve ever seen one.

I say, get work product faster, gain the competitive edge, and keep the money for yourself and your client.

This ain't your kid's website

Simon Aleman — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:26:11 GMT

Launching a website is sort of passé these days. Even my 12-year-old has one.

But this isn't your average website. It's an online resource for the entire legal field.

There's one complaint I always hear from other legal professionals on the topic of litigation support: "Lots of fluff and not much good stuff."

Poke around the web, and you'll find lots of academics posing highly technical and legally intricate theories, schemas and processes. Great, but not very useful to our everyday lives. Legal professionals, like you and me, are simply trying to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

We want straightforward, useful info:
"How do I create and then load a load file?"
"What is Group IV fax format?"
"What exactly is metadata and how do I use it?"

Those are a few examples of the many questions we'll answer on our website.

Our goal is to create an information portal for key topics that us legal professionals deal with every day: How-tos. Summaries of the laws that affect us. Do-it-yourself advice (DIY, you'll hear a lot around here). And answers to the questions you've been asking, like, "How do I load this load file into Summation or Concordance?"

We welcome your comments, insight and input. In fact, we'll be asking many of you to provide suggestions for our site's content and direction.

Like all great successes, our website will have humble beginnings. Before too long, it'll be chalk full of great information that's always available to you.

So, welcome. We hope you find our site to be informative and useful in your everyday legal worklife.